As you may recall, I was not happy with swing exercise. I was tempted to leave it at that and focus on other assignments, but, well... Well time sort of opened up and I found myself with more of it to spare. Also, we had a meeting with our Animation teacher to help us with an … Continue reading Swing again

This was my end-of-semester project for Screen Design. First, the video: https://youtu.be/pSGXOiFHwuQ The assignment was to give our own interpretation to the start of the new Chinese year of the Fire Rooster. We were told to do some research, shoot or animate a film, with only one restriction: we weren't allowed to feature the image … Continue reading Firewell

It's been several weeks, because I needed some time to think and also they were busy weeks. Anyway, it's been several weeks since I've seen "The Triplets of Belleville" (or "Les triplettes de Belleville" in the original French). It's a highly regarded animation film, one of the finest examples of French animation, and I just needed time … Continue reading The Triplets of Belleville

This is the animation I brought to Animation Fundamentals class today, where we needed to have our character swinging on a swing: https://youtu.be/HQNAN8Gjl2c Now I want to make something clear: this is not a good job. It may look fine to a quick glance because the body placements are alright, but the body movements - … Continue reading Swing it

This has nothing to do with Isaac Newton. It's just the name of the animation exercise we were given, since it deals with gravity. Yes, it is a silly connection, but the name stays. In this exercise we were supposed to drop three things on our character: a feather, a ball, and a stone block - … Continue reading Newton

It was a sick week for me, and although I'm steadily getting better it does mean there were fewer documenting-worthy events in my life. So to substitute real life I will do what I often do, think of something I find interesting; only now it will be in proper words and sentences and on the … Continue reading Show, don’t tell

Here's something great that a student from my class started. Every Tuesday, after school, we go to an empty hall and watch a movie. The rotation goes like this: Classic (2d) animation, live action, stop-motion animation, and then viewers' choice. The first movie we saw was the phenomenal "The Iron Giant". I could go into … Continue reading The animation 1st years’ movie club

And we cap the week - and my description of it - with Thursday, which I enjoy quite a bit. First lesson is Animation Fundamentals, and I like it. A lot. Definitely my favourite of the practical classes (I might like one of the theoretical ones better). The reason is very simple - we make animations. … Continue reading Thursday

I... don't like Wednesdays. It's not even for a particularly good reason, just some things that combined to create annoyance. Let's start at the beginning. First lesson is Cinema Fundamentals, and it's actually really cool. We've learned about one shots, cuts and what we can do with audio. We've also watched and analysed "Citizen Kane", and … Continue reading Wednesday

Tuesday starts with Computer Acquaintance - where we learn to use various programs an animator might have use of. The teacher says he is teaching us the basic principals that apply to any program - so that we can pick up new programs very quickly - and I believe him, but he's also teaching us … Continue reading Tuesday